


Incalescent

by technototem



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (but they will be), (okay not yet), Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, They are so in love, karl is ice, sapnap is fire
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:35:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29722893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/technototem/pseuds/technototem
Summary: Sapnap was born in fire.Karl was born in snow.In short, the two were polar opposites. And yet, against all odds, they were inexplicably drawn to one another.-or, an au where sapnap is lavagirl and karl is elsa ?? or something like that
Relationships: Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Comments: 3
Kudos: 44





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Incalescent: _(adj.)_ increasing in heat or ardor.

Sapnap was born in fire. Because of this, he radiated warmth at all times, melted any frost in his vicinity, and could swim through lava completely unscathed. He embodied heat in his every action.

Karl, on the other hand, was born in snow. He exuded a constant chill, and he could freeze an entire lake just by touching the surface of it with his fingertips. Snowflakes clung to his skin in the way that ivy clings to a tree.

In short, the two were polar opposites. They simply could not exist in the same place at the same time. And yet, against all odds, they were inexplicably drawn to one another.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky, evening quickly approaching. Karl heaved another pile of snow off to the side.

He sighed as he looked towards the sky, trying to judge what time it was. He had been shoveling snow for hours, and although he was unbothered by the extreme chill in the air, his muscles were burning from the constant exertion. Leaving the shovel to lean against the wall, he walked inside to retrieve a glass of water and rest his weakened arms for a moment.

Karl leaned a hip against the counter, filling his glass with tap water from the sink. He turned his head as he heard footsteps enter the room from behind him. "Karl? Are you done?" Phil asked, eyebrows raised in question.

Karl sighed, an apologetic smile gracing his features. "Not yet. I just needed a break, my arms are killing me." He sipped slowly from the glass in his hands, being especially careful to not accidentally turn the water to ice before he could drink it. He could already feel frost forming where his fingertips met the glass, despite his best efforts at controlling it. "I'll get back to it soon, promise."

Phil sighed and frowned at the younger boy, though not unkindly. "I know you want to help, and Techno and I really do appreciate it, but why don't you call it a day? You can come back tomorrow and finish up, if you want."

"Thanks, Phil. I appreciate it. I'll see you tomorrow, then?" He pushed himself off of the counter, wincing a little at the budding soreness in his limbs. He downed the rest of the chilled water before quickly washing the glass and placing it back where he found it.

Phil hummed. "You're always welcome to stay and hang out if you'd like. You seem tired, if you want to nap on our sofa..." The man shrugged. "You don't have to, of course, but the option is there."

Karl grinned fondly at Phil's father-like tendencies, but shook his head. "I have too much to get done today, I don't really have time to hang out. I wish I could, though." He slung his bag over his shoulder. "Thanks for the offer though. Means a lot." He aimed a smile over his shoulder as he opened the door to leave.

Phil issued a soft "See you later, kid," as Karl walked outside, heading towards the nearby nether portal.

* * *

Lava flowed around Sapnap's legs as he waded in, sighing as the intense heat provided sweet relief to his aching muscles. He had just finished sparring with Dream, and had decided to treat himself to a swim in the Nether after getting his ass handed to him over and over again all evening.

He sank further down into the lava, ignoring the feeling of small holes being singed into his white T-shirt. His fiery nature provided him with an innate protection against the heat, but it only partially protected the clothes he wore. He didn't mind - he knew Bad would patch the holes for him when he got home.

As he floated on his back, allowing the warmth from the lava to seep into his skin and ease the pain in his arms, Sapnap glanced up at the netherrack bridge above him. He knew he was the only person who spent a lot of time in the Nether - most only used it for quickly traversing the overworld - but he always found himself hoping someone would stop by, hoping he might find someone to talk to while he relaxed. He was always sure not to let his hopes get too high, though.

So when he saw a boy wrapped in a thick cloak sitting on the edge of the bridge, legs dangling precariously over the sea of lava, Sapnap nearly jumped out of the lava in his shock.

As the initial shock of seeing someone else in the Nether subsided, confusion settled in its place. Why was he sitting on the bridge, so dangerously close to falling into the lava below? Why was he pulling his cloak so tightly over his shoulders, even though the Nether was unbearably hot for most people?

Why was he now locking eyes with Sapnap, and why the _hell_ was Sapnap feeling so flushed at the sight of the boy's smile?

He watched as the cloaked boy waved at him before pulling back from the edge of the bridge and vanishing from sight. Sapnap let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he relaxed back into the lava, ultimately accepting that they would probably never see each other again. The SMP was big, after all, and there was no telling where the boy was heading or where he had come from.

After a few more minutes of soaking in the lava, Sapnap slowly pulled himself back onto the netherrack, briefly drying himself off before fastening his armor back over his freshly-burnt clothes. He slipped his sword back into its sheath as he made his way towards the nearest portal.

As he walked, he found himself glancing back over at where he had seen the boy earlier. If he was being honest with himself, he couldn't stop thinking about him, but he chalked his growing infatuation up to simple, innocent curiosity.

He stepped into the portal, not particularly caring where it would teleport him. He was so caught up in his thoughts about the mysterious boy that he didn't stop to consider the potential dangers of travelling through an unfamiliar portal.

As he arrived in the overworld, Sapnap was immediately met with nothing but _cold._ He tried not to panic - he could always just go back through the portal, of course. He looked around, only seeing a dark sky and grey snow on all sides. Panic began to set in anyways when he felt his body temperature dropping at an alarming rate.

He took in a hesitant breath, regretting it instantly as the cold air bit at his lungs, lowering his internal temperature even further. The edges of his vision went black as he frantically stumbled back towards the portal, trying to return to the Nether, before his body went numb and he collapsed into the snow.

* * *

Karl knew better than to go outside so late at night. He also knew better than to go back to the Nether, considering the risk it posed to him due to his cold nature. He was desperate to see that raven-haired boy again, though, determined to figure out _how_ and _why_ he was swimming in _lava._

His mind was filled with thoughts of the boy in the lava as he traversed through the snowy terrain, fending off strays and zombies while he moved towards the portal. As he approached, he noticed a strange form in the snow, lit up from the other side by the purple glow of the portal.

He cautiously crept towards the lump, quickly recognizing that it was a person. He nudged them with the toe of his boot to see if they were unconscious. When they didn't respond, he began to fret, unsure of exactly what to do.

Karl knelt beside the stranger, placing two fingers on their pulse point and hoping, _praying_ , that there would be a pulse. After a moment, he felt the faintest _ba-bump_ beneath his fingertips. He let out a heavy sigh. The faint pulse provided him with enough hope to gather his strength, dig his arms into the snow beneath their shoulders and legs, and lift the unknown person bridal-style.

As he turned around and began making his way back towards his house, he took the opportunity to look at the person in his arms.

The first thing he noticed was pitch black hair, a white bandana peeking through from beneath the strands. He took in the boy's closed eyes, long, dark eyelashes fluttering against his cheekbones with every soft exhale that pushed through his parted lips. Karl briefly wondered what color the boy's eyes were.

He kicked open his door, heading straight for the sofa in the center of the room. He gently left the unknown boy lying across the couch and turned to the fireplace.

Karl never used his fireplace. He had no reason to - although small amounts of heat posed little threat to him, he was strongly against the idea of starting a controlled fire in his own house. Desperate times called for desperate measures, though, so Karl piled some dusty firewood into the fireplace - and poured a bit of lighter fluid on it to ensure the wood would light - before lighting a match and throwing it on top of the wood.

The fire caught faster than he expected, causing him to fall backwards in shock from the sudden influx of heat. He crawled backwards on the floor until his back hit the sofa, instinctively trying to get as far away as possible from the fire.

Karl abruptly rose to his feet to check on the unconscious man after remembering the reason he lit the fire in the first place. As he placed a hand across his forehead, he realized his skin was warm to the touch despite being out in the snow for who knows how long. Karl frowned. The boy didn't exactly feel feverish, and he wasn't sweating or showing any other symptoms.

He was completely at a loss for what to do. He had no idea what had happened to the boy before he found him, so he had no way of knowing what was wrong with him. Karl checked for a pulse again, and when he was confident that the stranger's heart was still beating, he sank to his knees as relief and exhaustion washed over him simultaneously.

Karl was too afraid to leave the room, scared something might happen if he so much as took his eyes off the boy, so he opted instead to take a nap where he sat. He rested his head on the edge of the couch, not quite touching the stranger, but close enough to feel the warmth that radiated off of him.

As Karl drifted off to sleep, his mind filled with images of long, raven-colored hair and bright, bubbling lava.


	2. Chapter 2

Karl awoke to the sound of obnoxious snoring.

Which was a good thing, of course, because it meant the stranger was alive and well. However, it also meant that Karl was quite rudely awoken, which was not a good thing.

He groaned into the crook of his elbow, his knees aching against the hardwood floor. He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, but he was momentarily grateful that he had woken up before the other man. He didn't even want to consider what might have happened if the man had woken up before him, in an unknown location, with an unknown boy sleeping on the floor next to him. Nothing good, Karl was certain.

As he rose to his feet, his joints protesting with a symphony of cracks and groans, Karl observed the sleeping man on his couch. He put a hand against his forehead once again, noting an even higher temperature than earlier, but still no other symptoms of an illness. Karl grumbled quietly out of confusion and sleepiness.

He gave up on trying to figure out what was wrong with the man, instead deciding to get him a glass of water before he woke up. He went to the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it to the brim with tap water. He purposefully allowed some of his natural chill to flow through the glass, causing the water to become cold. He supposed his icy curse was useful - sometimes.

The house had become significantly warmer while Karl slept, and it was becoming uncomfortable for him. He knew he couldn't put the fire out for the sake of the stranger on his sofa, so he decided to throw his cloak over his shoulders instead to keep himself insulated against the heat.

He slid down to the ground once more, tiredness overtaking his thoughts and actions as he unwittingly slipped into a restless sleep once again.

* * *

Waking up was more difficult than it had ever been. Sapnap felt as though he was swimming through lava as he mentally fought to come back to consciousness. He cracked open one eyelid with an immense amount of effort, but his vision was foggy. He didn't have the energy to lift a hand and wipe the sleep from his eyes, so he chose to leave them closed as his brain slowly caught up.

Focusing on physical sensations rather than sight for now, Sapnap realized he was cold. Not worryingly so, thankfully, but still enough to make him uncomfortable. He heard a crackling coming from one side and felt an ambient heat from the same direction. 

Once he felt more conscious than before, he attempted to open his eyes again. They opened slowly, heavily, but his vision was slightly less blurry this time. He looked around as well as he could from his position (he could already tell he was laying on a sofa - unsure how, why, or where, but he was grateful for the comfort anyways).

Letting his head fall to the side, he noticed a fireplace only a few feet in front of him. He wanted so badly to stand up and sit directly in the fire, warm himself up as quickly as possible, get the aching chill out of his bones. He didn't have the strength to stand, though, so he settled for scooting further towards the edge of the couch, closer to the heat.

Sapnap heard a quiet gasp, along with some shuffling, before a surprised face appeared in his vision.

"You're awake! Are you okay? How do you feel?"

Sapnap couldn't make himself process any of the boy's words, only managing to force out some incoherent mumbles as his eyes began to close again. He knew the boy was still talking, his questions becoming more frantic as Sapnap fell back into the warm embrace of sleep.

The last thing Sapnap registered was the cloak around the boy's shoulders - the same cloak he saw on the pretty boy in the Nether.

* * *

Karl was anxious, to say the least.

The man had woken up for only a few moments, and he hadn't seemed fully conscious at all. Karl hadn't the faintest idea of what to do.

He wanted to go to Phil, ask him what to do, because Phil always seemed to know what to do in situations like these. Even Techno would probably be better at this than Karl - at least Techno had experience tending to sick and injured people. Karl couldn't leave the sleeping boy, though, and risk something happening while he was gone.

So, Karl decided to wait it out. He quickly retrieved a blanket from the linen closet, draping it carefully over the man's sleeping form. The man was still warm, but Karl knew his house was cold even with the crackling fire. He would rather be safe than sorry, anyways.

He flopped back down on the ground, pulled his cloak tightly around his shoulders, and stared into the flames in front of him until he felt the gentle pull of sleep tugging at the edges of his consciousness once again.

* * *

The second time Sapnap awoke, it was much easier.

His eyes opened before his mind caught up, but he felt leagues more cognizant than he had earlier. As his thoughts reached a reasonable speed and his eyes fought against the blurriness that had plagued them, he tried to remember where he was. On a couch, in a cold house, with a warm fireplace. There was a boy there, too. A pretty boy, with a cloak around his shoulders.

Sapnap's head shot up. Where was the boy?

He looked to the side, only seeing the fire blazing in the fireplace, just like earlier. The boy was nowhere to be seen. He listened, at first hearing nothing but the crackling of the fire.

After a moment, though, he heard soft footsteps padding across the hardwood floor behind him.

He craned his head to look over the back of the couch, just barely seeing the back of the boy as he rounded a corner into the next room. Sapnap tried to call out, to get the boy's attention, but the only sound that came out was a horrible croak. He cleared his throat, tried again, and managed to force out a much louder croak.

The boy's head popped out from around the corner, eyes wide. "Oh! You're awake again! Give me one second!" His head disappeared behind the wall again, and Sapnap closed his eyes briefly as he tried to fend off the growing headache he felt. He opened them again when he heard the boy come back into the room, plate in hand, smile on his face.

"You've been out for a while, so... I figured you might want some food. I'm, uh, not very good at cooking, but I tried my best," the boy said sheepishly as he left the plate to rest on a coffee table next to the sofa. "But first, you probably need water, I think. Here, one second."

Sapnap watched as the boy picked up a glass of water from the table, but instead of immediately giving the glass to Sapnap, he just... held it for a moment. The fiery boy's eyes went wide when he noticed the glass fog up with condensation, small amounts of frost arcing across the surface of the glass from where the pretty boy's fingers were touching it. Once the water was sufficiently chilled, the boy handed the glass to Sapnap slowly, as if trying not to startle a frightened animal.

"You don't-" Sapnap cringed when he heard his voice. It was hoarse from being asleep for so long, and he could feel his vocal cords grating against one another as he spoke. He cleared his throat and tried again, "You don't have to be, like, scared of me. I'm not- I'm not like that. Y'know, aggressive, or whatever." He avoided looking at the boy as he spoke, only forcing himself to make eye contact once he had gotten the words out.

The boy blinked a few times. "I'm not scared of you! I'm sorry, did it- did I seem like I was? I was just being careful to make sure _you_ weren't scared." He laughed politely, a bright, bubbly sound that made Sapnap's heart speed up considerably. "Are you feeling okay? You're like, warm, but not feverish, so I didn't know if that was a bad thing or-"

"It's fine. Normal for me. I'm just naturally... hot," Sapnap explained. The boy burst out laughing at that, which left Sapnap confused, but he wasn't upset. He liked the sound of the boy's laugh a lot, perhaps more than he cared to admit.

The boy stopped laughing after a moment. "Uh, yeah. You are." He cleared his throat, looking away awkwardly. "So anyways... My name's Karl. It's, uh, nice to meet you, but I wish it was under better circumstances," he said with a lighthearted chuckle.

Sapnap just stared. His brain still hadn't fully caught up with the situation, and he was still trying to process the fact that the pretty boy - Karl - had just blatantly and unapologetically called him _hot_.

Karl shifted his weight from one foot to the other, clearly waiting patiently for Sapnap to provide his own name.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm Sapnap." He paused awkwardly. "It's, uh, it's nice to meet you too."

* * *

Karl was in love.

Well, to be fair, he had never been in love before, and had absolutely no idea what it felt like, but he was _pretty sure_ he was in love.

He was completely enraptured with Sapnap, swooning over his every word as they talked. He knew he was doing a terrible job at hiding it, too, because Sapnap kept blushing when he caught Karl staring at him. Not that Karl cared much - if anything, it only gave him more reason to keep staring at the other boy.

"So you, like, freeze stuff? With your hands?" Sapnap asked incredulously.

The two had been talking for a while now, about nothing in particular. Karl initially spent a few minutes recapping the events that had led up to Sapnap sleeping on his couch, but after that, they found that conversation flowed fairly easily between them.

"Basically, yeah. I'm just like, cold, and stuff. I don't know, it's not as cool as your fire stuff." Karl was still blushing profusely from the way Sapnap had reacted to finding out about his icy abilites.

_"Wait, wait, you're telling me you could go out into the snow fully naked and not feel cold at all?" He had asked._

_"I mean, yeah, basically. It's more like I'm just cold all the time, so it doesn't affect me anymore. Here, feel," Karl had said, a light blush already spreading across his cheeks. He had held a hand out to Sapnap, who quickly touched the back of it with the tip of his finger. There was an immediate reaction from both boys - Sapnap had snatched his hand back in an instant at the sudden cold feeling, while Karl had pulled his hand to his chest and inspected it to make sure he hadn't just literally been burned by the other boy._

"So I guess... We can't touch each other?" Sapnap asked hesitantly. If Karl didn't know any better, he would think he sounded disappointed.

"I guess not. Unless we want to risk what happened earlier," Karl answered, sadness tainting the corners of his smile. "I guess if we, like, wore gloves or something, maybe we could touch? But I don't think skin-on-skin will ever be possible." He tried not to blush at the implications of his last statement.

"I mean... I can live with that. I can still watch you do cool stuff, like freeze water with your bare hands and go outside in the snow fully naked," Sapnap quipped, a cheeky grin sliding onto his face. Karl's blush was back in full force.

"I'm not- No! I'm not going outside without any clothes on, Sapnap, that's like, illegal or something!" Karl exclaimed as he buried his reddened face in his hands.

Sapnap laughed loudly, and Karl immediately decided that was his new favorite sound. "Okay, but you _could_ , right? You wouldn't get frostbite or anything?" He seemed genuinely curious, if not a little mischievous, so Karl indulged him once again.

"Yes, _theoretically,_ I could go outside with no clothes on and be fine. Just like how you _could_ swim in the lava naked, but you don't actually _do_ it, because that would be _weird_."

Sapnap paused. "Yeah, I definitely don't do that." He coughed. "That would be weird. You're right."

Karl doubled over with laughter. "Oh my god, Sapnap, you can't swim in the lava naked! What if someone sees you?! What if _I_ see you?" he asked with mock offense.

"Oh, please, as if you'd be that offended by it," Sapnap said with a smirk, causing Karl's blush to deepen and spread even further.

The two of them, paradoxical as they were, continued talking until the late hours of the night. When Karl eventually yawned, stretching his arms above his head, there was hardly any discussion before the two curled up in their previous positions - Sapnap strewn across the couch and Karl sitting on the floor, head resting on the sofa cushions by Sapnap's chest.

The older boy fell asleep first, leaving Sapnap alone with nothing but the sound of gentle breathing to occupy his mind.

And if the fiery man gently reached one hand out in the darkness of the night, carding his fingers carefully through the snowy boy's hair, well... that was no one's business but his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i genuinely don't know if this is good or not send help i am absolutely terrible at judging my own writing objectively


End file.
